Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru meminta kami menulis tiga kekuatan dan tiga kelemahan dalam buku latihan. - The teacher asks us to write three strengths and three weaknesses in the exercise book.

In the sentence, Guru meminta kami…, the teacher is talking to the class, and they are writing about themselves. The teacher (and possibly other people outside the class) are not included in the group doing the writing. So kami (we, but not you) is correct.

If you used kita, it would oddly suggest that the teacher (or the person being spoken to) is also part of the group doing the exercise, which is not intended here.

Can you explain the structure meminta kami menulis? Where is the English “to” in “ask us to write”?

In English, we say “ask us to write”; in Malay, this is often expressed without an explicit “to”:

Guru meminta kami menulis…
literally: The teacher asks us write…

The pattern is:

meminta + person + verb
- meminta kami menulis = ask us to write
- meminta dia datang = ask him/her to come

You can add untuk:

Guru meminta kami untuk menulis…

This is also correct and common, but meminta kami menulis (without untuk) is very natural and slightly more concise.

What is the difference between meminta and other verbs like menyuruh or mengarah?

All three can involve telling someone to do something, but the nuance differs:

meminta – to ask, request
- more neutral or polite; can be used for both asking a favor and giving an instruction
- Guru meminta kami menulis… = The teacher asks us to write…
menyuruh – to tell/order someone to do something
- sounds more like giving a direct order or command
- Guru menyuruh kami menulis… = The teacher told/ordered us to write…
mengarah – to direct, give directions/instructions
- often used for more formal instructions or directing actions
- Guru mengarah kami menulis… = The teacher directed us to write…

In a classroom context, meminta is polite and common, and doesn’t sound too harsh or too formal.

Why is there no plural marker on kekuatan and kelemahan, even though it says “three strengths” and “three weaknesses”?

Malay usually does not mark plural nouns with a special ending the way English does (no equivalent of “-s” / “-es”). Plurality is shown by:

numbers: tiga kekuatan = three strength(s)
quantifiers: banyak kekuatan = many strengths
context

So:

tiga kekuatan = three strengths
tiga kelemahan = three weaknesses

The nouns kekuatan and kelemahan stay in the same form whether they are singular or plural.

What do kekuatan and kelemahan literally come from?

Both are derived using the ke- … -an pattern, which often turns adjectives into nouns:

kuat = strong
→ kekuatan = strength, strong point, power
lemah = weak
→ kelemahan = weakness, weak point

So the pattern is:

ke + adjective/stem + -an → abstract noun
- baik (good) → kebaikan (goodness, benefit)
- buruk (bad) → keburukan (badness, drawback)

In this sentence, tiga kekuatan = three strengths (good points), tiga kelemahan = three weaknesses (bad points).

Do we really need to repeat tiga in tiga kekuatan dan tiga kelemahan? Could we say tiga kekuatan dan kelemahan?

Repeating tiga is clearer and more natural:

tiga kekuatan dan tiga kelemahan
= three strengths and three weaknesses

If you say tiga kekuatan dan kelemahan, the meaning becomes ambiguous:

It could sound like “three strengths and weaknesses” (total three points, a mix of strengths and weaknesses)
It no longer clearly says there are three weaknesses specifically

So, to clearly mean “three strengths and three weaknesses”, repeat tiga.

What is the difference between dalam and di in dalam buku latihan?

Both can relate to “in” or “at”, but they’re used a bit differently:

di = general location preposition (at, in, on)
- di sekolah = at school
- di rumah = at home
dalam = inside, within (more “inside-ness” or figurative “within”)
- dalam kotak = inside the box
- dalam buku = inside the book (in the pages/content)

In dalam buku latihan, the meaning is “in (inside) the exercise book”, i.e. written on the pages. You could also hear:

di dalam buku latihan – literally “at inside the exercise book”, quite natural
di buku latihan – also used colloquially; essentially means the same as “in the exercise book”

Here, dalam emphasizes “inside the book” (on its pages), which fits well with writing.

What exactly is a buku latihan? Is it different from a notebook?

Yes, buku latihan is usually:

an exercise book or workbook used for school exercises, homework, and practice tasks.

It is slightly different from:

buku nota = notebook (mainly for notes)
buku teks = textbook

In the sentence, menulis… dalam buku latihan implies the teacher wants the answers written in the exercise book used for class work, not just anywhere.

How do we know if this sentence is past, present, or future, since there’s no tense marking?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. Time is understood from context or from time expressions:

Guru meminta kami menulis…
could mean:
- The teacher asked us to write… (past)
- The teacher is asking us to write… (now)
- The teacher will ask us to write… (future) – less common without extra time words

To be explicit, Malay often adds adverbs:

Tadi guru meminta kami menulis… = Earlier the teacher asked us to write…
Sekarang guru meminta kami menulis… = Now the teacher is asking us to write…
Esok guru akan meminta kami menulis… = Tomorrow the teacher will ask us to write…

Without such words, the default interpretation in a classroom context is usually present or recent past, depending on the surrounding conversation.

Could the sentence be written as Guru meminta agar kami menulis tiga kekuatan…? If so, what’s the difference?

Yes, that is also correct:

Guru meminta kami menulis…
Guru meminta agar kami menulis…

Here:

agar = so that / that
meminta agar kami menulis… literally: asked that we write…

Differences in feel:

Without agar: a bit more direct and concise; very common in speech and writing.
With agar: slightly more formal or explicit, often seen in more formal writing (letters, official notices, essays).

In ordinary classroom description, Guru meminta kami menulis… is perfectly natural and probably the most typical.